WestYorksRoyalYorkshireRoyal99Elm Park Kid Unless Dai deliberately drags us under, it's highly unlikely that we'd actually lose the club. There are plenty of rich people out there looking to get a foothold in English football and Reading would look a fairly attractive prospect once the owner debts have been cleared. Our PAYE bill can't be that high. It's known that Mike Ashley is after another club for one.
Yeah, the fact we don't own our stadium and training ground is an issue. But Derby didn't and a deal was reached. We might not be as big a club as Derby, but we're big enough.
It obviously just depends on what owners we get. If we get someone like Mike Ashley, with deep enough pockets, then yeah that's not the worst owner we could have and we know we'd be spending within our means.
The issue is, if we end up with owners like Bradford or Portsmouth, we could be languishing between L1 and L2 for years like both of those clubs, because that's what they can afford. I would like to think this wouldn't be the case because we've got some good assets, but it's entirely possible.
I'd be interested to know more about Bradford. They pull on 15k attendances in L2 and should easily be too big for the league, but have been there for a while. Living nearby, there is not much anger or frustration at this underachievement. I suspect that when you've been pushed to the brink, you're happy just to have a club to go and support every Saturday.
But that idea doesn't sit comfortably for me with Reading. If a new owner wants us to be self sustainable, we should be able to achieve top L1 / lower Championship. If they're willing to underwrite modest losses, top half Championship with an outside shot at the golden ticket. The idea of us becoming Bradford doesn't sit pretty.
Of course, it would be the mother of all rebuilding jobs. Which of our remaining players who stick around in L2? And can a club in such a stage of transition attract talent to immediately compete at the top? Plus add in clubs like Salford and Wrexham with money and ambition. So perhaps it would be 4 - 5 years in L2. But it wouldn't change my view that it would be a major underachievement long term.
Their owners aren't that invested in the club and, whilst their fanbase is strong, they pull in larger crowds due to ticket prices being low (or they have been in recent years). Their actual income isn't that impressive for what they pull in. I know a few who believe they should be higher, but I think there is a bit more of an "acceptance" that they are where they deserve to be. Some believe they should be at least Championship based on size of ground and fanbase, whereas others say they aren't because it's been 20 years since they've played at that level.
Obviously it does all depend who comes in. If it is someone like Ashley, then yes we should be able to work our way back to the Championship. If it's fan-owned then that becomes much different. Salford and Wrexham I feel will hit a brick wall with their owners. Yes ambitious, but some ex-footballers and Hollywood owners, whilst rich, don't scratch the surface to some clubs. Look at ourselves, Dai has pumped something like £200m into the club over his tenure and that's been at Championship level, there is no way Salford or Wrexham's owners can compete with that type of spending.
) promised us that going down would be good for the club and we’d bounce back better.